Art of aerial warfare



Nov. 28, i944. G. J. UZMANN 2,363,626

ART OF AERIAL WARFARE Filed Aug. 14, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY SNOV. 28, 1944. G, U'ZMANN 2,363,626

ART OF AERIAL WARFARE Filed Aug. 14, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORGewye JU :zzz

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 28, 1944 .ART F AERIAL WA'RFARE 'George Ll.Uzmann, Rockville Centre, N. Y., as-

sgnor to Aero'vox "Corporation, New Bedford, Mass., a corporation of NewYork Application August 14, 1941, Serial No. 406,794

12 Claims.

The present invention relates Ito the art of aerial warfare and isconcerned particularly with vair defense equipment. l

Defensive barrage balloons require the use of `ground equipment and asuitable ground maintenance crew and are used only in favorable Weather,for they must be grounded during storms, in order to `avoid destructionthereof `and possible damage to the community to be defended.Furthermore such balloons are of Vgreat initial cost, are limited in theprotective heights realized and Asince they are mostly hydrogen inatedtheir destruction by the yenemy is relatively easy, and since they areconspicuous and fixed in position hostile craft encounter no Vgreatdifficulty in avoiding them.

The usual lmethodsof anti-.aircraft defense involving the use of guns,locaters, directors `and Vsearch lights are also costly and have,asexpeyrience has shown, not proved especially eicacious, since `Vin`practice many shells are Wasted for the relatively few that `reachtheir target.

:It is an object of the invention to :provide sim- `ple and .reliablemeans )for launching or laying an `anti-aircraft barrage Where and whendesired, which-shall be highly equally effective at all levels betweenground and ceiling in day `as well as in night raids, and regardless lofthe weather, which cannot be effectively shot down by the enemy, whichvis economical `of ammunition, the explosive fshell being detonated onlyby ldirect contact with fthe fcraft to be destroyed, a large portion ofvthe -shel'ls `used in the 4barrage that -do not reachvsuch contactbeing salvaged intact for re-use.

Another `object is to provide means of the above type, dispensing withthe need for accurate marksmanship on the part `of an anti-aircraft gun,but utilizing the -tractive l-force of the hostile vcraft itself as theagency for causing `a bomb unerring-lyto move forward along a `leadflinefouled by the aircraft, until it reaches detonating 'contact yWith suchaircraft.

Another object is to provide equipment of the 'above `type which may bemanufactured in large scale quantity production `at 4relatively lowcost, which requires no specialized launching equipment and `whichgreatly reduces `.the hazard to life of the defending force fand of thecivilian population, incurred inconventional pursuit plane combat overinhabited areas.

.'A 'feature of the invention is the guiding and .propulsion `of anaerial bomb along 1.a floating barrage cable havingoneor more fouling.hooks `to Aintercepthostile aircraft, the bomb havingmeans A:arrangedautomatically Vto propel it *forward along the :entrained ycable underthe tractive force .of the aircraft fouled thereby, for Adetonation Vofthe bombonlyrby impact with said craft.'

Accordingto ythe invention in a desirable wembodiment, each barragecable is suspended, preferably from a parachute, and the bomb includesasheave Wheel, around which the cable is led, Ysaid sheave -wheel beingmounted `on `a .turret Within the bomb, whose axis extends radially `ofthe bomb, so that the vdirectional `vanos Vof the Ibomb will causethcaaxis lthereof to point lengthwise of `the cable toward the fouledaircraft target. The bomb includes `a rotor, desirably an air drivenrotor propel-led Vin the =air vstream Aof the entraining hostile craft.and includes a suitable .transmission to the sheave Wheel Vforpropulsion of .the bomb along the kcable to the target. Under 4,therapid .propulsion of the .cable entrained 'by the craft with theparachute at the rear end -thus blown out and serving as a towedWindsock, vthe cable ltrails substantially horizontally and in `tautrelation so that .the sheave wheel is propelled therealong as on-a trackby the action of said ro* tor and carries ithe bomb -forward therewithuntil it strikes said craft with the .desired devastating eiect.

In the accompanying drawings in which lis shown one of Various possible`embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. l is a view in longitudinal .cross-section showing the completebomb `assemblage -in form to be launchedbyan anti-aircraftgun,

Fig. k2`is a view in side elevation of the launched `bomb assemblageprior 'to complete extension of the cable,

Fig. 3 is a view similar .to Fig. .2 of the 'completely extendedlaunched assemblage,

Fig. '4 is a View ,similar to Figs. v2 and `3 ofthe bonibvelement shownkon alargar' scale,

Fig-5 is a fragmentary perspective 'view showing the action of the unitimmediately aiterit is fouled 'iby aircraft,

Fig. 6 is a view longitudinal cross-section Vof the explosive bomb, and

'Figflis a viewin transverse cross-section'taken online`1-I of vFig. 6.

Referring now 'to 'the drawings, the complete aerial discharge device orbarrage assemblage includes an outer shell T0 with a timed fuse head l Iandassociated small .explosive charge i2 'which may be of the same'typeused in dare bombs. "The disk or :piston `plate i3 at the inner end ofthe time fuse rests against the rim of a thin horizontal -liner shell I4 closed at the rear endof the assembly in conventional xmannerby acapping disk "F5 retained in place by one or more shear pins I6. Withinthe shell I is the assemblage, which makes up the operative barrage unitshown in Fig. 3. and which is'to be released from the barrage assemblageat the desired level. This vunit comprises two lengths of cable I8coiled into compact reels I8 and I9' and an intervening explosive bomb Bto be more fully described hereinafter, slidably arranged upon thelength of cable intervening between the two reels, all in manner to bedescribed hereinafter. The upper end of the reel I8 is attached to apacked parachute 20 within the shell I4. Self-adjusting fouling hooks 2|are anchored to the cable near the opposite ends thereof and aredesirably `within the respective reels I8 and I9 in the assembly of Fig.l.

1t will be readily understood that thebarrage assemblage of Fig. 1 lofany desired caliber, such as 3 inch, 4 inch or 5 inch, may be loftedfrom a corresponding anti-aircraft gun to desired level and uponexplosion of the charge I2 under the action of the time fuse, when theunit has reached the desired level, the plate I3 is urged downward alongthe shell I0 to expel the lining shell I4, causing shearing of the shearpins I6 and'expulsion ofthe contents of inner shell I4. As the releasedparachute opens up in the position shown in Fig. 2,'the cable is playedout from reels I8' and I9 with the fouling hooks 2I exposed as shown inFig. 3 and the bomb B rests in midposition on thev cable I8 as shown.

Desirably each reel I8', I9' is wound in two, or if desired a greaternumber of reel segments a and b, desirably oppositely Wound, so that thereel segments a andb will be played out simultaneously, as suggested inFig. 2 and the barrage assemblage will distend more quickly uponlaunching thereof, than if the entire length of transverse plates and 3Iscrewed or otherwise secured thereto. Upon plate 3I there is lodged aturret 32 whose outerv part extends substantially flush with the face oflthe shell for minimum interference with the streamlining thereof. Theaxis of the turret 32 extends radially. The turret of the shell includesa metal sleeve liner 33 over which is telescoped the'rotary turret capl34 with the upper race 35 of a ball bearing 36, theb-alls of which arelodged in spacer plate 3|. The lower race 31 is vtelescoped over :thelowerv end of sleeve 33 for supporting the" turret 32. The cable I3extends over rollers 38 at corresponding ports 39 in the turret cap andis lodged in a correspond.- ing groove in a' sheave Wheel 40 on a shaft4I transversely across and carried by the turret. To this end a U-brackty42 issecured by screw 43 to the topfof turret, and shaft 4I is mountedin the arms thereof. y

A driving pinion 46 lodged against the face cap 28 of the transmissioncase is rigid with a propeller shaft 4'I extending rearward axially ofthe shell, and desirably enclosed by a protective sleeve The two endcaps- 28 and v29 of saidcase are connected by a pair of 48, attached atits forward end to the plate 28, and at its rear end to tail plug 49 onthe shell. The shaft 4I protrudes beyond the end of the shell and mountsan air driven fan bladed rotor 50 thereon. l

While any of a variety of driving transmissions might be interposedbetween the propeller shaft 4l and the sheave wheel 40, .there is shownin the drawingsone desirable lembodiment thereof. This comprises inaddition to the driving pinion an idler pinion 5I, .mounted upon the endof a stud LLL) about.

ythe gun lofts the assemblage.

shaft 52 lprotruding from plate 28, which meshes with a gear53'therebelow upon a transverse shaft 54 mounted at one end in plate 23and at the other in bracket 35' depending from connecting plate 30. Gear53 is connected by a sleeve 55 upon shaft 54 with a bevelled gear 56,meshing with bevelled gear 5l mounted on the lower end of Aa Verticalstud shaft 58 through the plate 30. The upper end of shaft 58 mounts abevelled gear 59, meshing with a fourth bevelled gear 60 on Vthe end ofa transverse shaftl which is supported inJ the arms of U-bracket 42 andbelow shaft 4I. Gear El!A isdesirably counterbalanced by a companiongear 62 at its outer end loosely mounted on shaft 6I and freelyrotatable there- Rigid with shaft 6I are a pair of gears 63 which meshwith gears 64 about the shaft 4I that mounts the sheave wheel 40, andrigid with said sheave wheel.

The shells 25 and 25 are filled with explosive 65 -such astrinitrotoluol, as are also a pair of open tubular connectors 66intervening between the chambers defined by'thetwo cups which make upthe shell, as is also the cavity therebelow about enclosure 65 aroundthe drive gearing.

In practical operation the invention'functi substantially as follows:

The complete aerial discharge device or barrage assemblage of Fig. 1 issent aloft froma ground Ifired standard anti-aircraft gun. The fuse I Imay be so timed that its charge I2 is detonated atea predeterminedaltitude, ordinarily at approximately maximum elevation to which Uponsuch detonation the inner shell I4 is expelled by the piston platel I3,the pin I5 being shearedV in the process andthe contents becomereleased. The packed parachute 2D promptly becomes inflated, the cablereels I8 and I9 become promptly un- OHS wound to the entire lengththereof, which unwinding is assisted by the weightof the bomb B and ofthe grappling hooks 2|. Thus as shown in Fig. 2 the cable will extendsubstantially-vertically downwardl from the parachute and the bombwillhang generally about midway of the lengthv thereof. Since they turret isordinarily so set as to bring vthe axis of the'shell at an acuteanglefto the length of the distended cable, the cable is snubbed by thesheave wheel"4ll.ancl vthe -bomb will not slide downward; In thisrelation tiplicity of fouling projections, including the vari-4 ousappendages thereof such as'motorf nacelles,

radio antennae, struts, Pitot tubesmachine guns, cannons, out-riggers,landing gears and the like. Where the cable is of flat steel it iscapableof doing considerable damage to thea. .oncoming plane; `sometimesit wi11 afford :a `means of icutting through portions of wing `coveringtto .serve fas La direct anchorage, but should the cable .slip past fanobstruction `on ithe plane it can only .slip as far as its fouling hook'211 which will Isecurelly anchor itin place.

The parachute member npromptly :becomes A'blown `out under thetremendous speed of propulsion of the 'snagged airplane A'and excessivedrag is thus eliminated. The trailing blow-n tout parachute togetherwith the associated f-fouling vhook lact -in the manner of a towedwindsock and the cable is thus kept :taut in a relatively horilzontalposition. The cable must be of nigh tensilestrength and is desirably ofwire or strip steel, 'or in some applications Aof ltextile or syntheticfabric.

Under the tremendous acceleration of the -ca- :ble when `it thus becomessnagged by the rapidly Amoving aircraft, `vanes 145 cause the bomb B`promptly 'to become aligned 'axially of the cable 'as 4shown in Fig.ii. 'The air driven rotor 50 `spinning in the air slip stream willrtransmit its 'torque through propeller shaft 41, pinion `IIS, idler'pinion 5l, gear 53, sleeve 55, gear 56,1gear "51, `shaft I58, gears 59and :lill to shaft 61 and lgears 63 and gears 64 Ato `the sheave wheellill. The sheave `wheel `4U accordingly will ride upon the cable I8forwardly, to cause the bomb rapidly "to advance toward the aircraft.Voperation `the fuse 22 will Tbecome `unarmed by the rotation of itsApropeller 23 to break the silk `thread 214 and to unscrew itself.Accordingly the Abomb will `explode when it strikes the craft at theforward end of the cable.

Alin practice a multiplicity of theunits las shown distended in Fig. 12might be Tlofted to constitute a truly effective barrage. When sentaloft in |`the `form of a recurring vertical'barrage, the `deviceslafford complete anti-aircraft protection -over all vlevelsbetweenground level Land ceiling, the -units at Veach level affordingprotection for the length of 'the cable thereof, say 1000 feet.Accordingly both high altitude raiding and dive bombing become equallyhazardous as ffar as 'the enemy is concerned. Wave flying formationsthat have heretofore Vbeen 7difficult to combat are especiallyvulnerable to the present invention. Thus the invention offers completeprotection over rela- -tively large areas, exactly where and whenLdesired. The `device `may 'be sent 4aloftto any ele- `.vationregardless of weather conditions between ground level and ceiling.According to the -invention the .freely suspended light `weight:parafchu-te is so designed as to -drop slowly to 4a lower level, sothat under barrage fire `it .will 'be -diicult for enemy bombers toestablish proper 4.travel and fdlrift yangles `or `flines of sight tomaintain their flying course as required for proper bomb sightoperation. Lofting of the barrage requires only the normal anti-aircraftgun battery with its regular personnel and necessitates no newequipment.

Where the invention is applied as an antiaircraft weapon for homedefense the use of the completely armed fuse 22 renders such devices asfail to be snagged by aircraft, harmless when they reach the ground.Aside from the deadliness and effectiveness of the units, their economyis thus manifest and innumerable bombs could be used for a lavishbarrage with the assurance of considerable salvage. The bomb assembliesare reclaimed and used over again. Where the device is employed overenemy territory a dual type of fuse may be resorted to for Early 2inthis :affording Vboth contact and 'time detonati'on to effect Vseriousground damage as a result of lautolmaticdetonation for such bombs as arenot `detonated against ying aircraft. The use of the steel suspendingcable I8 overenemy territory is advantageous from yet anotherstandpoint. As the Vdrifting unit approaches ground level, a lengthymetal cable will be caused to drag over a considerable distance withconsequent damage, lincludingparticularly the short circuiting ofelectric -p'ower circuits. Much damage and annoyance :can thereby lbecaused until the cables -are cut apart. Where used. over home territorythese cables might be of non-metallic character to do little material.ground surface damage in drag- 4 :and his fire.

.Because tof the small dimensions iof the distended unit, high speedaircraft would .have idiiculty in .detecting 'the same, particularly indarkness .or :overcast weather. .In practice the inner and outerparachute surfaces are moreover Asuitably colored, "further to eludedetection by :approaching aircraft, whether viewed from above or belowparachute level. The cable also :is preferably `sprayed =or finished soas to minimize reflection lof Vlight and yto render :detection moredifficult if not impossible. The devices when laid in :a barrage alsotend to confuse rhostile aircraft whose .pilots might be led to believethat 'their fire had `so damaged their target :that ipilots and crew hadbeen forced to 'abandon their .craft 'and were 'parachuting to earth.Such illusion would be created vbecause the apparently small, descendingparachutes would be assumed vto :be much larger 'and to have stallen a.much greater distance than is 4actually the `case.

As fmany `changes vcould be made in the above iconstructionlandmanyapparently widely differ- =.ent=enrbodiments of this iinvention could be'made without departing from Athe `scope of the claims, it is intended:that all matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanydrawings :shall be interpreted as illustrative and not rin a:limiting sense.

,Having thus ydescribed 'my invention, what I claim :as new 'and desireto secure by Letters .Patentisr fl. An anti-aircraft device, comprisinga hollow shell having a time fuse at its advance end, and an explosiveaircraft fouling equipment enclosed therein, including a packedparachute, a length of cable and a bomb slidably mounted upon said cablehaving` self-directing means and having rotor means actuated under thehigh speed of propulsion of the cable when fouled by moving aircraft,for advancing the bomb toward the propelling end of the cable.

2. An anti-aircraft device comprising a hollow shell having a time fuse'at its forward end, a hollow piston-driven lining shell therein to beexpelled by the action of said time fuse, releasable means near theopposite end of the shell to permit discharge of the contents by saidaction of the time fuse, said contents comprising a packed parachute, alength of cable, one or more fouling hooks thereon and a bomb having anarmed percussion fuse, lsaid bomb being slidably mounted with respect tosaid cable and having rotor means set. into action underV the highpropulsive speed of the cable when entrained by aircraft fouled therebyfor propulsion of such bomb toward the entraining end of the cable.

3. Anti-aircraft equipment comprising a parachute, a cable suspendedtherefrom, having one or more fouling hooks thereon, a bomb unit havinga sheave wheel therein around which said cable extends, said bomb havingvanes for automatically directing the same toward a fouled airplane,means for directing said sheave wheel to lie in theY plane of movementof the fouled craft, said bomb including a rotor actuated under theentraining impulse and a transmission on said bomb between said rotorand said sheave wheel for causing the bomb to be propelled forward alongthe taut entrained cable toward the fouled aircraft to be destroyed.

4. The combination recited in claim 3 in which the bomb has an armedpercussion fuse, retained by the cable and automatically released underthe impulse upon the cable when itfouls hostile craft.

5. An anti-aircraft bomb comprising ashell .having directional vanes, aturret built into said shell and having a sheavewheel thereon, a cableextending about said sheave wheel, a rotor at the rear of said bomb anda transmission between said rotor and said sheave Wheel.

6. An anti-aircraft bomb comprising a shell, a l

fuse at the advance end thereof, directional vanes at the rear thereof,a turret between the front and rear thereof having an axis radially ofthe bomb and having a ball bearing mount, and a sheave wheel carried bysaid turret and adapted for propulsion thereof along a cable about saidsheave wheel, an air driven rotor carried by said bomb and atransmission between said rotor and said sheave wheel.

7. An anti-aircraft bomb having a shell, a transmission case within saidshell and between the ends thereof, said case including a sheave wheel,a ball bearing mount therefor having its axis radially of said bomb, anddirectional varies unitary with said bomb for orienting the same withreference to said sheave wheel.

tionto said gearsystem and an air driven rotor vtherefor atthe rear ofsaid bomb.

9. An aerial bomb comprising a shell, an armed fuse at, the forward endthereof, an air driven rotor at the 4rear thereof, directional vanes, asheave wheel and a turret mount therefor within said bomb; the axis ofsaidturret being radially of said bomb, said sheavewheel being adaptedto have a cable extended therearound,` and a transmission between saidrotor and said sheave wheel, said transmission including a propeller rodextending forward from the rotor into vsaid transmission case andtransmission gears Within said casel operated from said propeller, fordriving said sheave wheel.

10. An aerial bomb comprising a generally cylindrical transmission case'including a ball bearing mounted turret having its axis radially ofsaid cylindrical case, a sheave wheel carried by said turret, a bombshell comprising two shell cup elements, telescoped with respect to saidtransmission case, tubes longitudinally of said transmission case clearof the transmission therein, establishing communication for theexplosive chambers in the respective cups, an air driven rotor at therear end of the shell and a propeller shaft extending axially of saidshell into said transmission case for driving connection.

11. An aerial bomb comprising a pair of bomb shell cups, a transmissioncase over which said 8. An aerial bomb having an armed fuse at theadvance end thereof, longitudinal directional vanes at the rear thereof,a transmission case between the front and rear of said bomb, said v caseincluding a pair of plates, a gear system mounted between said plates, asheave wheel propelled through said gear system, a propeller shaftlongitudinally of said bomb and in drivingl relacups aretelescoped,..said case having a turret therein with a low frictionbearing mount, the axis of which extends radially of said bomb, the topof said turret extending substantially flush with the surface of saidbomb, a sheave Wheel carried by said turret,l driving gear teeth rigidtherewith, and a gear system within said transmission case including adriving pinion axially of said bomb, a'propeller shaft connected to andextending rearward from said driving pinion and axially of said bomb andan air driven rotor at the rear end of said bomb connected to saidpropeller shaft.

12. An anti-aircraft device comprising a hollow shell having a time fuseat its advance end, and an explosive aircraft fouling equipment enclosedtherein, including a packed parachute, a length of cable .and a bombslidably mounted upon said cable having self-directing means and havingrotor means actuated under the high speed of propulsionof the cable whenfouled by moving aircraft, for advancing the bomb toward the Vpropellingend of the cable, the length of cable being Wound in a plurality of reelsegments to be played out concurrently for prompt distention of thelaunched device.

y GEORGE J. UZM ANN.

